Vision
by Night Searcher
Summary: After Exposure (spoilers) Tory and the gang discover they're not alone in their journey of figuring their genetic mishap. A whole new mess of problems come along that don't include murder or psychopaths, but genetics and hormonal issues. Normal teen issues; at last the "normal" by Viral's standards. (contains: swearing, mature content, ToryxBen, and all that good stuff)
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: this is after Exposure. Contains spoilers**

* * *

Chance's eyes were molten red.

My hand went numb when I let his arm go, then my entire arm. I began to shake.

"Tor?" I heard Ben's voice but couldn't focus on it. Everything inside my head was turning to mush. Chance's presence was throwing me off. I knew the other Virals were there, but there was this fifth one. I couldn't wrap my mind around it like I could the others. It was throwing me off.

"Tory!" I must've fallen because I was starring at the ceiling and Ben. My entire body was shaking violently.

"What's wrong with her?" Chance asked frantically.

"She's the only one who can connect to us through her mind. You must've messed her up somehow." Shelton yelped.

"You just had to mess with our lives didn't you Rich Boy!" Hi screamed.

"If you hadn't lied to me none of this would've happened! I could've helped!" Chance's voice rang out with anger and frustration. Ben just looked down at me with horrified eyes. "Tory."

_Ben_. My mind blurred, and smeared, stretched, and warped.

_**Snap**_**_  
_**

My vision, above 20/20 average, that I had become accustomed to returned and everything else kicked into high gear. I could smell the fear leaking off all the boys but Chance's was different. His smelt more concerned for something other than me right now. Himself.

Suddenly, pain jolted out of mouth. I screamed in agony. My body curled into a tight ball, not allowing Ben's safe arms to caress me. My tongue scraped against something sharp in my mouth. Blood stained my lips and teeth, and spilled out onto the floor.

"Holy shit! We need to call 9-1-1!"

"NO!" All three boys shouted in unison.

"If we do we'll be exposed... _all _of us. Including you." Shelton squeaked frantically.

"Yeah, welcome to the freak show." Hi barked.

"Guys! Tory could be dying right now so shut the hell up and focus!" He tilted my head onto it' side so the blood didn't spill back into my throat. Reaching into my mind, I forced myself past the pain, and envisioned the glowing lines connecting us all. Hi. Shelton. Ben. I could sense Coop fidgeting around in the apartment howling like a possessed beast. I saw all their figures around me in glowing yellow light. But off in the distance, there was a new figure now. One enveloped in hot red light. Different.

_**Snup**_

Suddenly, I lost my flare. The boys must've been flaring too because they all let out and exhausted sigh. My eyes fluttered open. I saw Ben starring intensely at my face; all the boys were. Normal irises. All accept for Chance.

"Chance," I started saying weakly, "You need to let your flare go."

"My what? My eyes are fucking glowing red! Your eyes were yellow, just like the last times!"

"Chance, just relax!" Ben screamed knowing his frustration was affecting me. I could feel his anger surging through my head like a force in the room. Unable to take it, my body hurled itself at him. My hands grasped his temples till his flare subsided. His eyes returned to their normal cocoa brown.

He stumbled backward and braced himself a bookshelf. I was left there to fall onto the floor. The last thing I remember was The boys beginning to argue and Ben pulling me back into his arms saying, "Tor, please hang in there," things went black, "Tory."

* * *

My name is Victoria Brennan. I live in Charleston, South Carolina. I'm a typical high school student with normal friends and a normal life. Ha! I wish.

I'm actually the most a-typical girl, strike that, human, strike that, most a-typical _something_ you'll ever meet. If I don't get myself killed first.

I'm not longer "technically" human, parts of my genetic code have been rewritten and transformed. Everything I thought I knew about my body and the possibilities of it have long since left my already screwed up life.

"Well, who are you?" you might ask. That's easy. I'm Victoria Brennan, Tory or Tor for short, and I am a Viral to boot.


	2. Chapter 2

I began to wake up in a cold sweat. My mouth was unbelievably sore. My tongue throbbed from where it touched the sharp object. Something was off. My head felt groggy but it wasn't that. _Him_. He was near me.

My eyes flashed open. Something feral inside me warned me of danger. I leapt from where ever I was laying down and crouched on the floor. There were four other figures in the room. I didn't know their faces but I knew their presence. Something seemed familiar about them though. They tried to approach me but a low growl formed in the back of my throat. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck prickle. They were making weird noises. They were trying to communicate to me. Or something.

My eyes scanned all of them as I crawled low to the floor. My claws scraped the thin layer of dust. I carefully looked at all of the figures. The first one I observed was the tallest, biggest, and the one that agitated me the most. He was different. All the others had a yellow feel to their presence. He had a blood color.

I tried concentrating on the other three. One seemed nervous. The other just didn't know what to do. The third. The third was looking straight at me. As the other three spoke, he continued to stare. Something in his eyes. They wanted something back. They wanted _me_ back.

Another instinct kicked it. _Human__._ It tried to tell me to stand on my hind legs. Just my legs. I wanted to for some reason. My body reacted. I lifted one paw after the other. My hind legs wobbled. The one who stared tried to catch me, he put his front paws out while he stood on his two legs; I growled loud enough for him, and the rest of them to hear. He backed off.

More noises came from their muzzles. More for me to not understand. Suddenly, a new figure came in. _Brother_, I thought. His ears pricked up at the site of me. He trotted over. _Cooper_. I must've made the noise the other figures knew because they started howling and making noise like crazy. Over and over I heard Cooper's name but nothing else made sense. They knew my brother.

_Scared. Lost. Help._ I thought.

My brother came forward to me as I sat on my haunches. My front paws balanced on his shoulders. I looked into his familiar eyes. He said, _Be human again sister. Be not scared anymore_.

* * *

The guys all starred at me. I was standing in the bunker. Coop was sitting at my feet. Chance was here. Shelton. Hi. Ben.

I looked at my hands. They were covered in a thin layer of dust. My mouth was sore beyond belief. My head felt like someone toyed around inside and shoved me out and back in again. I didn't remember anything after I collapsed. Something lingered inside my head. Something ancient. Primitive. Wild. _  
_

Thinking too much made my head hurt even worse. I ran my hair through my scalp. The tip of my fingers grazed my ears; they felt pointier than normal. I looked around. I felt different.

"Tori." I yelped with fear. I was shot out of my daze. Ben's voice scared me. His face grew sad. I never thought that hearing English would scare me. "Tori, it's me. Ben." I must've looked confused because he went on to say, "This is Hi. Shelton. Coop,"

"I'm here too you know!" Chance argued loudly.

"Yeah but I think she trusts the people she's known longer and has been through more with than you Rich Boy!" Hi screamed.

"Guys! Focus for one second! Not our biggest issue at the moment." Shelton brought everyone back to me.

"Tori," Ben's voice was sweet and kind. Honest and comforting. "We won't hurt you. Remember_. _We're your friends. We're here for you." I just stood there. I couldn't move. I had honestly forgotten some of the most important people in my life. _  
_

I staggered forward. Before I knew it, I was crumpling to the floor wrapped tightly in Ben's arms.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered softly with a deep hurt in my voice.

Ben answered honestly. Thank god. "We may never know. But we'll always be there for each other. I'll always be there for you."

I let my head rest on his shoulder as his lips pressed against the crown of my head. I smiled ever so slightly as I began to hear the others guys fighting.


	3. Chapter 3

I was sitting in the bunker holding my head between my knees. The guys were all yelling their heads off at each other again. What was happening to me? Would this happen to the guys? Would we lose it completely? Would we be safe anymore if this happened at any random time? I was just flat-out scared. I was kinda glad that the guys were yelling; it kept my mind off of some of this. Helped me forget that I'd temporarily forgotten all of them, but after listening to it for a half hour, it was getting a little annoying. They kept fighting over the same thing. If only they could hear themselves. they sounded like a pack of deranged hyenas. Yipping, growling, and snarling.

"I can't believe you actually thought injecting yourself with an _experimental virus_ was a good idea!" Ben screamed. He'd been my voice in all this since my head felt like it had just gone through the blender.

"If you had just explained to me what was happening instead of hiding everything maybe we wouldn't be in this mess!" Chance had a somewhat valid point, but being as deep as we were, we couldn't afford to take any risks.

"Bare in mind guys, I've got an entire veterinary clinic company in the palm of my hand who'll jump if I say so, and what've you got? The internet? Books? Educated guesses?" Once again, valid points.

"But notice one thing, we've kept it under a pretty tight seal. This is extremely dangerous and you're completely ignoring that fact." Ben said coldly, "If even a rumor about something even remotely similar to what we are and what we can do, we'll never see daylight again let alone each other. They'd find us faster than you can write a check Claybourne. They won't hesitate to do to take us just because of what we look like, who we are, or who our families are. They will take us, Chance. They'll take us _all_." Chance had probably never in his wildest nightmares, thought of a scenario that he couldn't buy or charm his way out of. We on the other hand, had gotten used to squeaking by; even though ninety percent of the were a little too close for comfort.

The boys all broke out into hysterics. Hadn't they gotten tired of fighting? I sure as hell had gotten tired of listening. A strong taste rose in the back of my throat. _Oh shit_.

Before I knew it, my body hurled itself out the narrow opening of the bunker ran a little ways to the right, and proceeded to relieve itself of what little contents it held.

I probably knelt there hacking away for a good solid two to three minutes till absolutely nothing, not even bacteria, would have been left in my tank. I sat back on my heels. My throat burned. My head was foggy. I felt like my body was going to concave on itself from being so hollow.

But at least it was silent. I should've puked about half an hour ago if I had known it would've gotten me peace and quiet. Nothing but the rolling sea, sea gulls, and the distant sound of afternoon traffic.

A strong pair of hands braced my shoulders as I shook slightly. Ben could usually gage when I wanted human interaction after an emotional episode. Sometimes. Not all the time. He was definitely getting better at it.

I looked over my shoulder to see Shelton ripping at his poor earlobe, Hi with his hands on his head pacing back and forth, and Chance standing there without a clue in the world about what he should do with himself. But one thing I knew for sure was that they were all waiting for their brave, and ready leader to hatch a plan. Only this time. The plan wouldn't involve saving other people, saving LIRI, or saving a friendship; this was about saving our lives. And this time, I had nothing to go off of.

* * *

Thank god all this happened on a Friday. The weekend would give me at least two days to try to begin this warped puzzle. After my vomit fest, the guys decided to call it a day. Ben helped make sure I didn't face plant in the sand, bless that boy. I threw up another three times and nearly got the last one on his shirt.

When we reached my house, I remembered Whitney would be making dinner right about now. Blargh.

"Tory! Get this mongrel out of the kitchen and up to your room immediately!" said a voice in a high-pitched octave twanged with a Southern Belle's accent.

"Hi Whitney. Oh I'm fine thanks for asking. And have you ever bothered to think that if you fed him his dinner once in a while he might not want to eat you?" I was so not in the mood for any of this.

"Darling, why on earth are you forcing this gentleman to drag you around?" Typical, avoid the topic at hand and make a quick switch.

"I don't know, maybe it's because I vomited like four times, and didn't trust myself to walk home."

"Oh sweetie! I told Kit not to cook those burgers so rare, now look at you! You look absolutely dreadful." Thanks, Whitney. Remind me how crappy I feel.

"Go up stairs right now and put on your pajamas, I'll run to the store and whip up some good old fashion chicken soup in no time." And like that, Whitney was gone. She probably left to get away from my vomit coodies. Or to get away form Coop now drooling at my feet from the smell of pasta and meatballs.

"So, what now?" Ben asked. I'd almost forgotten that I was hanging off his shoulder. "I should probably feed Kujo here before he creates a puddle with that slobber." I let my arm drop from Ben's shoulder as I tried to lean down and pet poor Coop. I didn't realize how off-balance I was till I hit the floor. My chin hit the hardwood with a satisfactory thud.

"Ooooowww." I said in a monotone.

"Oh good lord."

"No, its okay, you can call me Tory."

Ben chuckled. "Go feed the mutt for me will ya? Bag's in the pantry to the left, cups in the third drawer. Remember,

"Only two cups, or he's gonna get fatter than he already is."

"Only two cups, or he's gonna get fatter than he already is. I know, Tor." Ben and I talked at the same time. We both smiled. Coop bounced happily at Ben's heels while I pulled myself up to the near by couch. I ploped down and laid flat on my back as I listened to Coops' whining while Ben poured his food. I closed my eyes. It felt so good. Like I hadn't slept in eons.

I listened to the soft volume of the news. My body seemed to melt into the cushions. Something sunk into the cushions next to me. I cracked my eyes and saw Ben clicking to the _Discovery_ channel with Coop at his feet gnawing on a raw hide. He must've seen me peeking otherwise he wouldn't have asked, "Am I bothering you?"

"Not at all."

"Tor, you need a nap. You look like a friggin ghost."

"You're just jealous of my beautiful Irish complexion." He play punched my arm. "I'm joking. I'd kill to have skin that doesn't cook as red as a lobster." We both laughed. My body was so relaxed, I let my eyelids fall. They weren't going to open again.

"Tory." All I could do was mumble something that resembled a reply. "You need a nap, and I don't think the couch is your bed." I didn't move. I couldn't. Sleep overwhelmed me. Coop tried licking my face but a hand stopped him.

I felt arms wrapping under my legs and around my back. Ben was holding my like the cliché hero carrying the damsel.

He carefully walked up the stairs and into my room and placed me on my bed. Since it was hot as hell and I hate being sticky when I sleep, he only covered my legs.

My mind dove deeper into itself. Everything sounded farther away. And before I heard the door close softly, I could've sworn I felt a faint pair of lips press against my hair line.


End file.
